Life-saving apparatus for ships.



S. J. TRACY.

LIFE SAVING APPARATUS FOR SHIPS.

APPLICATION HP1-1D MAY 2, 1914. 1,120,866. Patented Dec. 15,1914. v

N #MTH N m. c

W/T/VESSES S. J. TRACY.

LIFE SAVING APPARATUS PoR SHIPS.

APPLIGATION FILED MAY z, 1914. 1, 1 20,866. Patented Dec. 15, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WIT/VESSES "HE MORRIS PETERS C0., PHOTG-LITHO.. WASHINGTUN, D. r

- STEPHENJ- TRACY, `orrixnrsanns ram; NEW JERSEY.

LIFE-siivmenrrnmirus For. sHIrs.

vinscrita.'

.Specieatonof Letters I'atent. i 'Patented Dec, 15, 1914..y

Application filed May 2,1914. Serial No. 835,840. v

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, STEPHEN J. T RAGY, a citizen of the United States of America, and

residing at Palisades Park, inl the county'ofv Bergen and State of New Jersey, have 1nvented new and'V useful Improvements Life-Saving Apparatus for lShips, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention 1s to provide in simple and quickly accessible form a practical means of communcation between ships at sea for llfe saving purposes.

A special object is to provide an inexpen-kl sive and compact equipment of this char-'- acter which may be readily applied to allV vessels and which will render such vessels capable of either rescuing passengers from other vessels, or of sending 0E their own passengers, as necessity may require.

'Io these ends, one feature of the invention consists of a transporting cable which is stretched between the communicating vessels and is automatically maintained inthe tautened condition necessary for transportation between the vessels irrespective ofthe relative movement and the distance between the vessels. This automatic tensioning of the cable is obtained by connecting the cable at one end to one vessel and at the other vessel passing it over an outboard support f and weighting the outboard portion of the cable sufficiently to counterbalance the weight of the span of cable and the load carried thereby. The load will usually be carried in a car traveling on the cable and suitable for passenger or cargo carrying ypurposes, as-the case may be.

For the sake of providing landing stages on the vessels at the ends ofthe span of cable, the cable is preferably made fast to the first vessel at a point inboard and above the deck and at the second vessel the cable is passed over an elevated inboard support before it passes over the outboard support which carries it over the side of the vessel. Usually the outboard or weighted end portion of the cable is formed into a loop and the weight is supported in the bight of this loop so that by taking up or paying out thecable at the standing end of the loop the weight may b e raisedv or lowered in accordance with the depth of sea and without affecting or being eifected by thecarrying span of the cable. A lead line may be attached tothe weight to form anindicator whereby the weight'may be kept ata safe :Another feature of the invention consists of a life net which is supported oif from the into the sea on an outward incline so that the effect of thewaves will'be to wash per` son up the incline of the net to a position- 'f depth at all times, and a similar line may be stretched between the ships so that with the length of span known, the counterweight necessary to .keep it properly'taut may be' known with certainty and so be employed."

side of the rescuing ship and extends down I i i of safety.- The value of thisvznet isfurther l yenhanced by the employment fofa hand `line yor "lines extending from the rescued ship into the midst. `of the net whereby persons on such line or lines will be carried with cer` .i f'

ainty intoy the.,v net. `Usually the net. will :fr bey dividedin two `parts so as'to lie on op-- posite sides of the stemfof the ship and willy extend fromgthe deck line well down into the water.

Other features of the invention will ap-i,"

pear as the specification proceeds.`

` The accompanying drawings illustrate a practical embodiment of the4 invention but as this `is for illustrative purposes, it will"v y' be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention. l

Figure l, is amore or less diagrammatic representation of the invention as in use in the rescue of persons fromk a disabled'ship at sea. Fig. 2, illustrates the rescue 'of per-k sons from a ship stranded on a bar; Figs.r

3 and 4: are enlarged sidefand top plan views f of the portionof the apparatus usuallycarried by the rescue ship. Figs. 5l and., 6 are ysimilar views of the apparatus carried by thev disabled ship.v Fig. 7 is a detail view illustrating a form of swivel mounting" for the pulleyblock whichsupports one end of s. the cable.r Fig. 8, is a perspective view of a y. ,l i

passenger carrying cary for transporting passengers from one vessel to another.

In the vfirst six iigures, A represents a vesf` sel in distress and R a rescue ship. 7 is the so-called transporting cable formingthe connecting link for the transport of pas# sengers from the `rescued to the rescuing vessel. f. 8 `designates a cartraveling on said cable and rdrawn' therealong by suitable cable'is maintained` in thetautened condi- `means, such asthelineQ; 'Theltransporting 1 y y tion necessary for transporting purposes by. i

means'of `a weightll applied to the end of o the weight 5@ this looped portion of g-pn the standing 9nd the cable. This yweight and the .lengtlrof cable which directly supports it is kept from fouling with theship by passingthe cable over an outboard support such as the sheave from tne side of the ship. ln the preferred practice this outboard cable support will be located at'the stern of the inconspicious and out of the way. Urdinarily lin operation the weight will Vbe suspended from the stern of the disabled vessel and at the other end the cable will simply be made fast at ysome convenient point on the rescue vessel. l

'lo provide landing stages at the ends of the span of cable, the cable is preferably brought inboard and elevated above` the deck. it the weightedl end this is accomplished by passing the cableover an elevated inboard support such as the sheave l5 on, the mizzenmast Ar before it` goes -down over the outboard support into the sea and on the other ship the cable may be connected to..

fthe mast or to a temporary support such as indicated at 16, placed inboard and elevated above the deck. The sheave l5 is usually swiveled as indicated at `17in-Fig. ,7 toallow .,for lateral movements `of the vessels. Usu-` ally the embarking end of the cable will be higher than the other end so as to facilitate the passage from one ship to the other and at this higher end, where the cableismusually ,supported at an elevated point on the mast,

"'a platform 18 may be provided. At. the

5 lower or receiving end the cable may be sup.- n ported at the right height for the passengers to be landed on the deck or a landing platform may be provided if desired.

To permit of the raising and lowering of to suit dierent depths and for the purpose of adding to or subtracting more or` less weight in accordance with the --length of span and weight of load, "without slacking olf. the span, the weight is preferably supported in a loop of cable which may be. lengthened or shortened at will. rIhis loop is Vdesignated 2O and the weight `is shown provided with a sheave 2l riding in Y the bight ofthe loop. The standing end of cable passes up over a roller 22 and maybe made fast to'a capstan or windlass Byraising or lowering of the loop it will be obvious that the weight may be lifted or lowered without afecting or being affected by the span of cable.

Thepassenger carrying car may be ofany suitable construction and is here shown as consisting of a wooden slat bottom 25,

e0 suspended by two arched hangersv 26 from' supporting wheels or trolleys 27 riding' on the cable and having network sides 28, con;

-nected at the endsby gates in theA form of hooked bars 29.

The transporting cable is passed from one vessel to the other in any l2 supported in brackets l outstandingl maneuvered'so that vessel where 1t is of span will suitable way, as by first shooting a messenger line from one ship to the other or lby pick-ing up a buoyed line dropped from one vessel to the other, and thendrawing the cable across with the aid vof this line. The ships are usually i the rescuing vessel will lieto leeward of the disabled ship so that the transfer from one vessel to the other will be assisted by the elements. ln order that the,A automatic, tensioning of the cable shall not interfere with the transfer of passengers, the weighting of the cable is preferably at the` disabled ship end of the cable and the cable is simply made fast in any convenient manner onthe rescuing ship as by connecting it to a davit or to a capstan 50. When the cable has been made fast on the rescue ship, the weighted end of the cable is lowered into the sea. This may be done by carrying` forward; they proper length of overboard cable andv attaching the weight thereto, as indicatedin dotted lines at 32 in Fig. 5, and then when all is ready, releasing the weight and allowing the cable. and attached weight to swing. down into position oif the stern. For the weight l prefer to use an anchor chain which as indicated, may be formed into loops 33, as many in number as may be necessary to properly counterbalance the span. of cable and the load which it is to support. The length of span being known and the weight of a definite length of chain being known, the necessary amount j of chain may be quickly ascertained and be employed. ships with suitable markings inthe nature of a leadline, maybe used so that the length be known at all times. The weight will preferably be suihcient to allow for: variations of a hundred feet or so in the length of the span. Upon an undue increase or decrease in the length of the span, the weight may bel drawn up by taking in the loop 2O of cable, and weight necessary to compensate for the changed conditions, be added; or subtracted, as the case may be, and it will be noted that this compensation is accomplished without affecting the carrying span of the cable. A lead line 35 may be connected with the weight so as to indicate at all times the depth of the weight in the sea. This indication also gives notice of the fact that the vessels may be drawing nearer together or farther apa rt.

ln conjunction with the cableway, l may employ a net,such as indicated at elO. This netis shown divided into two triangular sections ll andlshaped .to lie on opposite sides of the stem of the rescue ship. The

net is supportedby a transverse beam l?) yat i secured in theouter corners of the nets at 46 soA as to hold the net sections distended. Lines 47 serve to draw the spars outward so as to stretch the netproperly and lines y48 dependent from the ends of the athwartship beam support the outward ends of the spars and regulate the depth of the net inthe sea. The edges of the net may be caught up kas indicated at 49 toform side walls. The down-y ward and forward inclination of the net assists very materially in the rescue work because the natural effect of the waves is to wash persons in the sea up the incline of the net and the incline is such as to practically support without effort anyone resting on the net. rlhe netwill usually extend upy over` the deck rail so that the passage may be made unassisted from the water up onto the deck. f

Hand: lines 50 may be run from the disabled ship to the rescue ship and when the life net'is employed, these lines will preferably be run into the net so that persons in the sea `willbe guided and positively directed into the net, Usually these lines will be passed through the net, over guides 5l in rear of the net and have attached thereto the weights 52 for keeping a suitable tension on the lines.`

When the life net is to be used the athwartship supporting beam 43 will be secured in position, the net will be secured to the ends of the. spars and then when they saving any persons who might fall from the conveyance into the sea.

In case of a high'sea, oil bags 54, or equivalent means may be employed for' reducing the effect of the waves. These bags will as shown be thrown over from the vessel to Windward so as to calm the sea about the vessel to leeward.

Fig. 2 indicates the use of the invention in rescuing lives from a vessel driven ashore on a bar or reef, which due to stormy conditions cannot be reached by boats from the beach. v ln this case, after the transporting cablehas been carried to the wrecked ship and there made fast, the weight necessary to balance the load and the span of cable between the wreck and the relief ship, is attached to the cable and lowered overboard. rIhe passengers are then transferred to safetyA on the relief ship by way of the car traveling on the cable. Preferably vthis car is large enough to carry a number of pei sons `in one load.4 The hooked bars closing the ends of the car permit of the' quick loading and unloading of the car.' f For the sake of li gl tening the load on the cable as much as possible the hauling line 9 is usually operated from ahigher 'levelthan the cable so that the pulling will also exert a lifting tendency` on the car. rlhis feature is 'shown in Figs, ASand 5 where the hauling line 9 is passed over blocks 59 placed at higher ,elevations than Y 'the transportingy cable. A. convenient means of attaching this i line to the car is toccnnect it withan eye i 60 carried by a brace bar 6l connected between the two arches of thecar. v

Vifhen loweringy the weight into they sea,

the cableiisusually `held at the end vwhere the weight is being lowered so as toprevent too sudden a strain being appliedto .the

stretch of cable between the ships. ln the present instance, this is y accomplishedby applying a clamp G3 to the cable at a point near the :support l5, which clamp, las' `the weight is lowered, engages with said sup.- port, thereby relievingfthe stretch of cable of all strain. lowered, the distance between the vessels may be increased enough tokbring the stretch of cable taut, whereupon the load will then be taken off the clamp, which may be removed so as ynot to interfere with the automatic tensioning action.

If at any time it becomes necessary tomaterially` increase the counterbalancing weight-as in a case where it is found iiec- YWhen the weightv has been icc essar to carr more aassenoers at a tri this may be done by applying a clamp 65 onthe 'standing end side of the weight loop 20. When this clamp is allowed to come in engagement with the weight sheave 2l, as by lowering on the standing end `of the loop, the entire weight is then transferred to the working end of the loop and hence becomes a dead weight sustained entirely on the end of the transporting cable. putting this clamp on the working end of iio` By ,K

the weight loop it will be seen that the weight may be taken off the transporting f cable' and be transferred wholly to thestanding end section of cable. f'

i is

Very material assistance in keepinggthe vessels properly spaced apart is provided by making the lead line 34 fast toone vessel and at the other end connecting it with anl instrument T0 located in the pilot housek or other convenient point, which will give the information necessary for the maintenance of the proper separation betweenthe` ships.

In the illustration -this instrument has `a drum 7l,iaround which a turn. of` the line 34 is taken after the ships havefbeen maneuvered into the proper relation. The end of, the line may be guided over the ships side and be provided with afweight 72. `As the ships separate, the drum of the indicator will rotate in one direction and as they approach, the drinn will rotate 1n a reverse direction. The indicator being provided i. with suitable reference characters or dials,

the one in charge of the ship is thus kept informed of the relative movements of the ships and can govern his ship accordingly. The distance line will usually be made of pianov Tire which is relatively light and possesses the necessary strength and flexibility.

ln addition to the equipment described each vessel will preferably carry an outboard support at the stein as well as at the stern so that in the case of a ship sinking by thestern, the weight may be lowered over he bow.4 An outboarc stern support of this character is indicated at Td in Figs. l andl 3. lll i Fh this additional equipment the counterbalancing weight inay be supported from whichever end of the vessel is the inost handy and tree troni danger.

lt is evident that niy invention is of such siniple character that it 1nay be readily carried by all vessels without adding sensibly to the cost thereof and that while inconspicucus and out of the way when not in use, it may be quickly erected and put into use. ln particular the invention forms a valuable addition to the equipment ordinarily carried by revenue cutters and the lilrevessels engaged in patrol and rescue service.

lVhat l claiin is l. Life saving' apparatus for prising a cable tast at one end to one ship and extending' iironi said ship to another ship, an inboard support on said latter ship over which the cable is passed to provide a cableway i'roin the tirst ship to a landing stage on the second ship, an outward support over which the cable from the inboard support is passed down over the side of the ship and a weight carried bythe said downwardly extending outboard portion of the cable and sutlicient in extent to counterbalance the stretch of cable between the ships and the load sustainet-l by said stretch of cable.

Apparatus of the character described, comprising, a span of cable between two ships, an outboard support on one of said ships over which the end portion of said cable is passed overboard down into the sea, a weight on the said overboard deships, cornpendent end portion of cable sutiicient to counterbalance the weight of the span of cable and the loa-l to be sustained thereby and a conveyance traveling on the span of cable.

3. Life saving apparatus for ships, comprising a cable fast at one end to one ship and extending from said ship to another ship, an elevated support on said latter ship and over which the cable is passed to' crease the amount of the loop thereby provide a cableway between the ships, a landing platform beneath the said elevated support, an outboard support over which the cable from the inboard support is passed down over the side of the ship into the sea, a conveyance traveling on the stretch of cable between the ships and a weight carried by the overboard portion of the cable substantially equal in value to the combined weight of the loaded conveyance and the stretch of cable between the ships. 1l. A life saving apparatus for ships, comprising a cable extending from one vessel to another and formed at one of the vessels into a dependent loop supported outboard overthe side of said vessel, whereby the standing end of said loop may be lowered or drawnup at said vessel to increase or decrease the amount of the loop extending down into the sea, a sheave riding in the bight of said loop and a weight supported by said sheave and substantially equal in value to the weight of the length of cable between the vessels and the load to be supported by said length of cable.

5. As a means of communication between vessels at sea, asupporting cable fast at one end to one vessel and extending from saidv vessel to another vessel and formed at said latter vessel into a dependent loop supported outboard over the side of said vessel, a weight supported in the said overboard dependent loop of cable and lneans for taking up and paying out the standing end of said dependent loop of cable whereby to raise and lower the weight without affectingv the span of cable between the vessels.

6. A life saving apparatus for ships, comprising a cable fast at one end to one ship and extending from said ship to another ship, an inboard support on said latter ship over'which the cable is passed to provide a cableway from they lirst ship to a landing stage on the second ship, an outboard support over which the cable Jfrom the inboard support is passed down over the side of the ship, a weight carried by the said downwardly extending outboard' portion of the cable and sufficient in extent to counterbalance the stretch of cable betweenl the ships and the load sustained byvsaid stretch of cable and a stop adjustably clamped on the cable adjacent the inboard support.

7, Life saving apparatus for ships, comprising a cable extending from one vessel to another and formed at one of the vessels into a dependent loop supported outboard over the side of said vessel, whereby `the standing end of said loop may be lowered or drawn up at said vessel to increase or del extending down into the sea, a weight supported in the bight of said loop and substantially equal in value to the weight ofthe length of cable between the vessels and the load to be supported by said length of cable and a stop adjustably'clamped on one of the sides of the said loop of cable.

8. Life saving apparatus for ships, comprising a net, means supporting said net off from the side of a ship and dependent into the sea, a support on the ship in rear of the net, a hand line extending from another ship through the net and over the support in rear of the same and a weight on the hand line below the support for maintaining the stretch of line between the two ships relatively taut.

9. Life saving apparatus for ships at sea, comprising a net, means supporting said net outstanding from the side ci the rescuing ship and dependent into .the sea on an incline whereby the effect of the waves will be' to wash persons up the incline of the net and a hand line extending from the rescued ship into the inclined net of the rescuing ship.

l0. Lite saving apparatus for ships at sea,

comprising a net divided to lie on opposite sides of the stem of a ship and extending from above the water line down into the sea, and means for supporting the divided portions of the net outstanding from the sides of the ship and inclined downwardly and forwardly into the sea,

11. Life saving apparatus, comprising iny ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. i

Copies of this patent may* be obtained for combination, a transporting cable connected between a rescuing ship and a ship in distress, a passenger conveyance traveling on said cable, means for applying tension to said cable and a life net carried by. the rescuing ship and dependent on an incline into the sea substantially in line with the path kof travel of said conveyance over the cable.

1Q. Life saving apparatus, comprising a supporting beam extending athwartship the bow portion ofk a ship, spars supported from said beam and extending from the sides of the ship down into the sea, net secured to the lower ends oi' said spars and held distended thereby and a dependent boom carried by the stem and engaging the intermediate portion of the net between the spars.

13. In apparatus` of the character described, a I'load-carrying cable connected be tween two relatively movable vessels, a distance line connected between the vessels, and a distance indicating instrument on one of said vessels operated bv said distance line to thereby indicate at all times variations in the length o-vload-carrying cable between the vessels. i

sa. rnacv,

Witnesses: i i

A. W. SEAMAN PHILIP S. MCLEAN. 

